Highly Contagious Bird Flu Sweeps The Nation
(TruthandLiberty.com) – America is experiencing massive inflation and sky-high price increases on grocery items. The situation may worsen as the United States struggles with avian flu. Because the bird flu is so viral among chickens, farmers have euthanized 28 million egg-laying hens across 32 states. That’s approximately 9% of the total number of birds. The contagious and deadly bird disease spreads to chicken flocks through wild ducks, geese, and other bird species.
As the supply of chickens and eggs goes down, the prices go up with steady or increased consumer demand. In early March, Marketplace said the wholesale price of eggs was $1.50 per dozen. By Easter, it was over $3. Experts say the avian flu tends to drop off quickly with warmer weather, and they hope the worst is behind for farmers and consumers.
Add this to the economic forces driving up food costs: bird flu. About 6% of our laying hen population has been affected. That's on top of ongoing supply chain issues that have already driven up the price of eggs: https://t.co/BTTfZSv5yd pic.twitter.com/GmFvh94oac
— Marketplace (@Marketplace) April 21, 2022
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said grocery prices could increase another 4% before the end of 2022. If you enjoy eating out, prices could increase by 6.5%. From February 2021 to February 2022, milk prices rose 11.2%.
There’s a bit of good news: Humans rarely catch avian flu, so perhaps there’s a silver lining for consumers who love eggs. As long as they see a rebound soon, farmers don’t believe there’ll be any supply problem with eggs. In the short term, retailers are absorbing the increased prices. Yet, if prices stay high for long, consumers may wind up footing the bill.
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